Following Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the New World in 1492, Spanish men endured months of difficult voyages in search of three things- gold, glory, and God. In addition with arriving with the drive to conquer, they were soon enough met with mighty and diverse civilizations that made up Mesoamerica-- proving itself to be the perfect opportunity to take the wealth of these peoples, obtain territory, and maybe convert a few souls to Catholicism. However, these civilizations were very large and very strong. The courage, strength, and the will of an “almighty God” of a small band of Spanish conquistadores would not be enough to lead to the downfall of these mighty empires. Rather, regardless of how “superior” the Spanish thought themselves
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Spanish conquest of the Americas would generally be known to have formally begun with the defeat of the mighty Mexica, (a lot commonly referred to as the Aztec), empire in 1521. Led by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortés, they first came into contact with the Americas in 1519. Out of a pure coincidence (or perhaps due to the intervention of the Almighty) two translators joined Cortes’ band of conquistadores: a Spanish man left behind as a result of a shipwreck, Jerónimo Aguilar, and a Nahua girl given as a gift named Malinztin (renamed as Doña Marina), who had ended up proving herself to be one of Cortes’ most important allies. Malitzin had served as an interpreter, as she spoke Nahuatl (the most common language that was spoken in Central Mexico) as well as Mayan, and mediator between the Spanish and their indigenous allies, as well as their enemies. Communication became the first factor in having a successful conquest. “Without Doña Marina, we could have not understood the language of New Spain and Mexico” (Documenting Latin America, 20). Had it not had been for Malintzin, it would have been impossible for the the conquest of the Mexica to go as
Spanish conquest of the Americas would generally be known to have formally begun with the defeat of the mighty Mexica, (a lot commonly referred to as the Aztec), empire in 1521. Led by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortés, they first came into contact with the Americas in 1519. Out of a pure coincidence (or perhaps due to the intervention of the Almighty) two translators joined Cortes’ band of conquistadores: a Spanish man left behind as a result of a shipwreck, Jerónimo Aguilar, and a Nahua girl given as a gift named Malinztin (renamed as Doña Marina), who had ended up proving herself to be one of Cortes’ most important allies. Malitzin had served as an interpreter, as she spoke Nahuatl (the most common language that was spoken in Central Mexico) as well as Mayan, and mediator between the Spanish and their indigenous allies, as well as their enemies. Communication became the first factor in having a successful conquest. “Without Doña Marina, we could have not understood the language of New Spain and Mexico” (Documenting Latin America, 20). Had it not had been for Malintzin, it would have been impossible for the the conquest of the Mexica to go as